Underground pole cable terminal



G. R. FOLDS ET AL UNDERGROUND POLE CABLE TERMINAL Filed .my 8, 1925 3 sheets-sheet l Jari. l

Jan.. l, 1929. i 1,697,060

G. R. FOLDS ET AL UNDERGROUND POLE CABLE TERMINAL Filed July 8, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jan. V1, 1929. 1,691,069

` G. R. FOLDS El' AL UNDERGROUND POLE CABLE TERMINAL 'go n Filed July 8, 1925 3 Shezbs-Sheet 3 46 Spf/S3A @ji/S3 @swam/cf ,Pf/wams M ll/Qta' m75?, QM

Patented Jan. 1, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE R. FOLDS 'AN D LAWRENCE I. PERSONS, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ABSIGNORS T0 y i Coox ELECTRIC COMPANY, or CHICAGO,

ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

UNDERGROUND POLE CABLE TERMINAL.

yi5 and where the underground cables terminate it is preferable to extend them with the aerial cables strung on poles. Where these comico-- tions are made, good practice requires a terminal box for the aerial cable and another terminal box for the underground cable. It has been found practical to connect the circuits through fuses as the hazard of exposed aerial cables is much greater than that of underground cables. As the investment of underground cables is reater, every care should be taken to protect t ein against injury. On the of other hand, it has been found `that such termiiial boxes with cross connection facilities between cables are of great advantage.

3o Those skilled in the art are aware of the fact that terminal boxes are commonly known.

wires forming a network throughout the pole [house must result, particularly where a lar e number4 of circuits are cared for by asing o pole house.

An. object of ourinvention is to provide a cable terminal having core boxes arranged therein, one infront of the other, which are -connected in pairs, the aerial and; underground conductors accommodated therein being connected preferably through protective/ devices compactly arranged at the sides 'of It is 40 evident therefore that a mass of intercrossing Application mea my s, im.' semina. 42,14s.

each pair. As a consequence, the general arrangement within a cable terminal consists of units set parallel to each other with the connections between the aerial and underground conductors forming, in reality, part of these units, thereby eliminating the aforesaid undersirable network of wires which 'interferes with quick access to the conductors and tends to prevent maximum circuit capacity of 00 the cable terminal.

A further object of our invention resides in the 'rovision of an improved arrangement of bin ing posts permitting convenient and rapid connection between conductors ofthe saine circuit, and, should it be desired, cross connection between conductors of different circuits by leading the interconnecting wires between binding posts and along the center oiA the front coi-c box of each unit where a fanning strip retains these wires suitably hunched 'and easily identified when needed.

Further objects and advantages Of our in'- vention will be appiarent from the detailed description when ta en in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part here .In the drawings: f Figure l is a front elevational view of a cable terminal embodying our invention with' ao 'the door of the pole house removed; v f

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken lon line2-2 ofFig.1; l

v Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view throu h the pole house, this view looking upwardly at a5 -the bottom of the wooden floor supporting the core boxes within the pole'house;

Fig'. 4 is an enlarged cross sectional view vthrough a unit of core boxes to illustrate how they ma be mechanically arran ed as a unit no within the pole house b fuses bridged across the core boxes at their sides; and u Fig. 5 is a side elevational view of a portion of one of these units. v l f e The cable terminal illustrated comprises a I6 wooden pole house 1, 'in/which a plurality of core boxes for the aerial conductors and the underground conductors are verticglly/ di's- A posed and preferably arranged in pairs, one infront of the other, so as to form units a and mu bf These units may be arranged in parallel relation between the ceiling 2 and floor 3 of house 1, butin the present instance we mnner 8,

words, the conductors are to the sides and 6, the front portion of these .sides being connected to the door so that in reality the door opens along -a line through these sides. It will be apparent later on 1n the descri tion that opening the door in this ords convenient access to the sides of the core boxes vwhere protective devices may be connected in circuit. A suitable latch 9 may hold the door in closed position at the front of the pole box.

loor 3 may be secured in place in the bottoni of pole house 1 by means of angle' irons l() or other suitable fastening elements. Secured upon door 3 are e pair of horizontally disposed parallel core boxes 11 and 12. These boxes should preferably be suitably insulated from each other by being properly spaced apart. v The aerial cable leadin 'to the cable terminal may be accommodated1 by a nipple 1d extending through licor 3 and communicating with core box 11. In like manner, the underground cable may be accommodated by a similar'nipplel extending through door 3 and communicating with core box 12. These 'p nipples are preferablyof the-self soldering which is Well understood to those skilled art. Pairs of vertical core boxes 16 and 17 are seated on the horizontal core boxes 11 and 12.

TVertical''core box 16 is adapted to accommof date the conductors of the aerial cable. rlhese conductors are suitably brought into the vertical core box 16 from horizontal core box 11. The conductors leading out of the underground cable and'into thel core box 12 extend upwardly'into the vertical core box 17 Where more than a single pair of verticalA core bexes 16 and 17 are employed in a pole house, we find the use of horizontal core boxes 11 and 12 .particularly advantageous, because these boxes furnish convenient means to run groups off. conductors, each representing a cer- ,tain number of circuits, from the serial and f underground cables into the roper vertical core boxes, without exposing t suitably protected and are kept separated from the jumper wires and cross connecting wires which we shall later describe. Angle irons 20 are furnished to connect the lower ends of vertical core boxes 'v 16 and 17 to horizontal core boxes 11 and 12, but it will be here noted that the front core boxes 11 and 16 are insulated from rear core boxes 12 and 17. Similar angleirons 21 conneet the upper ends of vertical core boxes to t e @ailing 11i-'each of two opposite sides of em. In other core box 17 is mounted a series of hollow connecting posts 22 extending through the sides' of the box and insulated therefrom, preferably as shown, each bindin post receiving the end of a conductor of t e underground cable. Suit-able spring clips in the form of angle irons are electrically connected to binding posts 22, the outer end of these spring clips each having a fuse seatiormed therein to receive a fuse 26. Fuses 26 connect across the sides of core boxes 16 and 17, in brid 'ng relation, Whilethe opposite ends of t ese fuses connect in similar spring clips 27 car- Iied by a series of vert-ical binding posts 28. Binding posts 28 are suitably insu ated from aerial core box 16 by means of insulation washers 29. The binding posts 28 may be arranged in a vertical row along the front edges of aerial core box 16, preferably along both edges, however, to receive the ladjacent terminals of fuses 26. Another series of horizontally disposed pairs of similar binding posts 30 and 31 may be furnished adjacent the vertical binding posts 28 for the purpose, of course, of connecting the aerial conductors with the underground conductors through the .fuses 26. It will be noted in Fig. 1 that short jumper wires 32and 33 are rovided for this purpose,each side of the line aving a separate fuse and connecting to one terminal of each series. It is apparent, however, that only one side of each circuit may be fused, if so desired.

Core boxes 16 and. 17 are provided with cover plates 3d and 35, respectively. Core box 17 has 'its edges bent at right angles as indicated at 36 in Figz.- to secure the cover 35 to the box'portion to close the latter and thereby form an airtight and moisture tight box for the underground cable to enter. The

4jointbetween the flanges 36 and the cover 35 may be kept air and moisture tight by means of a gasket 37 referably of rubber intersed between t e parts and 36, screws ing -employed, however, as the fastening elements. Corebox 16 hasitsedges folded back preferably to stien the same and then bent into vertical anges 38 to receive screws 39, which secure cover plate 34 in position. A rubber gasket 40 may be used t0 form an airtight and moisture tight closure for said core box 16. lIt will be noted that we prefer to arrange both series or sets-of terminals on cover plate 34. Cover plate 34 is slightly larger crosswise than cover plate, so as to accommodate the vertical binding posts 28 between the sides of the core boxes and the fuse clips. We find it advantageous to have such an arrangement and to provide a anning strip 43 centrally between these binding posts to receive twisted pairs of conductors 44 `toobtain cross connections between diierent circuits where'changes'in service may be desired and sary to make such cross connections occasionwhere-it may be necesj Y 45 all the ally, due to certain lines getting out of order. The tanning strip 43 further serves to bunch the cross connecting wires in close relation in the front of each unit by carrying a plu- 5 rality of vertically aligned rings 45 through which these cross connecting wires pass. It will be noted in Fig. 1 that any number of these cross connecting wires may be employed to furnish connections between circuits anywhere along the front of the aerial core box 16, and, if necessary, these cross .connecting wires may be `run upwardly to the top of each unit and be led across to another unit for connection to conductors accommodated therein. Front cover 34 of aerial core box 16 acts as a terminal carrying plate, which Y compactly arranges the circuit connections for the circuits leading into each unit. Thus, possibility of confusion or improper 20 connections may be reduced to a minimum,

while the testing of these lines is accordingly simplified. Disposing terminals and 31 in horizontal pairs allows the jumper wires `and cross connecting wires'to be convenient- 25 ly led therebetween from the vertical terminals 28 to the center fanning strip 43. Fanning strip 43 is secured td the front plate 34 y means of bolts 48. It is usually customa to furnish this fanning strip with a plurality 30 of transverse openings 49, indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 4.

It will readily be seen that the construction above described' provides a very light cable terminal and acable terminal which is very strong and readily accessible, conveniently tested and repaired or in which circuit changes may be `quickly made. The usuall mass of cross wires forming an ,undesirable network in front o f the core boxes byA the. 40 usual number of cross connections employed in a cable terminal has been eliminated, and consequently, circuit connections may be quickly traced.

We do not wish to limit this invention lto articular details of construction as herein s own and described as'many vmodifications may be made without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

We claim: i

o 1. A Vcable terminal comprisingl a pole house adapted to be suitably secured in position with .a .plurality of vertically disposed core boxes therein, saidcore boxes being arranged in units of atleast two each for inter- '55 connecting.v electrically underground conductors 'and aerial conductors accommodated within' said core boxes, protective devices disposed along the' sides of said core boxes for permitting theconnection of said underqu ground conductors to said aerial conductors,

.and horizontally disposed obre boxes below said vertical core boxes and into which the underground and aerial-conductors are led from the exterior of the terminal.'

2. A cable terminal comprising a pole house adapted to receive one or more pair of core boxes vertically disposed therein, protective devices for each pair serving to interconnect the underground conductors accommodated in one of the core boxes of each pair to the aerial conductors accommodated in the other core box of the same pai-r, and horizontally disposed core boxes provided for common connection with the core boxes of said vertical pairs and arranged one for underground conductors and one for the vertical core boxes accommodating said aerial conductors.

lthe vertical core boxes accommodating said 3. A cable terminal comprising a pole ry core box separately connecting and supporting the vertically disposed core box of each pair which receive conductors therefrom, and insulated top and bottom mountings for said core boxes whereby said.core boxes receiving said -under round conductors are electrically insulateg from said core boxes ieceiving said aerial conductors.

4. A cable terminal comprising a pole house adapted to be suitably secured in position. and provided with'a plurality of core boxes vertically disposed t erein, said core boxes being arranged in units of at least two each,.which units may be separated from one another within said pole house, protective devices vdisposed along the sides of said core boxes for permitting the connection of underground conductors accommodated in one of the core boxes of each unit'to aerial conductors accommodated yin the other core v,b'ox' of 'the same unit, studs on the sides of said boxes l for receiving saidxprotective devices, term-inal connectors for accommodating electrical connections along the front core box of each unit, and a fanning strip dis sed substantially len hwise and .centr ly along Asaid frontcore x and between said terminal connectors whereby cross connections between circuits connected to the same unit or to different units may be conveniently made 'and with the interconnecting conductors running Centrally along each unit-agua farming mi strip.

5.a @bis termiiiaiminpiiging 'a pole' house adaptedv for the reception/of a lurality of core boxes vertically disposed t frein, said core boxes being provided in pairs, each v pair individually accommodating the underiool lio

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ground and aerial conductors of said terminal, protective means on the exterior of said connectin wires 'dierent circuits of the same pair, and afanning strip arranging said interconnecting core boxes for permitting the connection of said conductors together, terminal conductorsaccessibly disposed along the front face I of one of said core boxes, said terminal connectors accommodating interconnecting jumper wires permitting electrical connection l between the underground conductors and the aerial conductors of a single circuit leading into a single pair of said core boxes and to interch eably accommodate intertwn said conductors of wires a substantie bunched or close relation along the center of said front face of plane along the Aso v`said core box.

connection therewith to Iconnect said protecferent pairs of core tive devices to the conductors of the same circuit leading into said core boxes of each pair, and to cross connect said protective devices to conductors of diii'erent circuits leading i into the same pair of core boxes or into difboxes.

7., A cable terminal comprising a pole house adapted to have one or more pairs of core boxes arranged in a vertical position therein, the core boxes of each pair being disposedoiie in front of the other, means for leading protected underground conductors and unprotected aerial conductors separately into said core boxes of each pair, protective devices accessibly disposed at the sides of said core boxes, a plurality of binding posts arranged in vertical rows along the edges of the front face of one of said core boxes and also in horizontal pairs adjacent to said vertical rows, interconnecting conductors cony nested between said protected underground conductors and said unprotected aerial conductors of the same circuits or for cross connection between these conductors of diilerent circuits, and annin strips arranged vertically betweenvsaid binding posts for group- -ing said interconnecting conductors centrally in front of each pair and to permit cross connection at the ends of said :tanning strips to adjacent pairs of said core boxes.

8. A cable terminal comprising a pole house adapted to have one or more pairs of sheet metal core boxes vertically mounted therein, protective devices accessibly disposed in said pole house at the sides of said core boxes for permitting the connection of underground conductors and aerial conductors accommodated in said core boxes, terminal connectors along the front edges of one of said core boxes, said terminal connectors being so arranged as to permit interconnections between the underground conductors and aerial conductors of the same circuits or to permit cross connection between these conductors of different circuits, and a tanning strip for each pair of said core boxes, said fanning strips having ring-like members thereon to receive said cross connections and to group the same centrally in front of each pair and to lead the saine at the top or bottom to cross connections of other pairs.

9. A cable terminal comprising a pole house and a plurality of core boxes disposed therein one in front of the other, protective means mechanically arranging said core boxes in pairs within said pole house, said protective means being disposed at the sides of said core boxes, one of said core boxes having aerial conductors therein electrically connecting through said protective means with underground conductors in the other box of each pair, and terminals mounted on the front face of one of said boxes, said terminals being arranged both or jumper wires between terminals in the same circuit or for interconnecting wires between terminals of other circuits.

l0. A cable terminal having front and rear core boxes, and protective devices accessibly disposed on the sides thereof whereby to provide protected connections between oonductors accommodated in said core boxes, said protected connections including a plurality of binding posts and a plate on the front core box for carryin said binding posts, said plate being remova ly mounted to facilitate the connection of certain of saidv binding posts with the conductors in said front core box.

l1. A cable'terminal having two core boxes arranged as a pair and protective devices accessibly disposed on the sides thereof for providing protected connections between conductors accommodated in said core boxes, said protected connections including a plurality of bindinrr posts on said core boxes, and removable iiont plates on said core boxes permitting access to the interior thereof whereby to facilitate the attachment of theconductors within to said binding posts. l

l2. A cable terminal having two core boxes arranged as a pair and protective'devices disposed on the sides thereof whereby to piovide protected connections between conductors accommodated in said core boxes, one of.

1,e97,ooo 5 with marginal flanges protruding beyond the between the conductors therein and said bindsides of the core box, binding posts carried ing posts along said marginal flanges. on said front plate along said marginal In Witness whereof, We have hereunto sub- 10 flanges for connection with said protective scribed our names.

5 devices, and other binding posts on said front l plate extending therethrough into the in- GEORGE R. FOLDS. teror of the core box to provide connections LAWRENCE M. PERSONS.

y CERTIFICATE or connection.

Patent No. 1,697,060. .A y Granted January l; 1929, to

' anonce n. FoLDs ET AL.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the 'i above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 3, line 59, claim l, lstrike out the word "for"; ypage 4, lines 4 and 5, claim 5. for the word "conductors" read "connectors"; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with these corrections therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 19th day of February, A. D. 1929.

- M. J. Moore, (Seal) Acting Commissionerof Patents. 

